The final countdown... to striking a pose!!

OOOOhhhhhh myyyyyyy - I'm debating....
.....on whether to share or NOT to share this picture with you all....my fun loving faithful sweet NON-JUDGEMENTAL bloggy followers!  :)
My next power lifting meet is this weekend.  (don't worry - it's not locally so I don't have to worry about anyone busting up in on me to ooogle over my uniform!)  ha ha

SO just because ..... well I don't do anything "half way" - this one is an official "sanctioned" meet.  Most of the people (GIRLS) that compete this Saturday will be geared...  This means they will likely wear "bench shirts" and "squat suits" blah blah blah.....

I'm still a newbie to this whole world and I have yet to walk down that road.  (though I did bust out some squats in knee wraps this week... ya know - for fun and stuff!)
So I will be what's called a RAW lifter.
Meaning I won't be sportin any GEAR.

BUT - in these sanctioned meets, you are REQUIRED to wear a singlet.
A singlet is defined as:  

a one-piece, tight-fitting, colored uniform, usually made of spandex/lycra, or nylon, used in amateur wrestling. The uniform is tight fitting so as not to get grasped accidentally by one's opponent

SPANDEX???    a woman's BEST friend!!!  
 ARE YOU PICTURING THAT RIGHT NOW IN YOUR HEAD??
 because trust me..... it is EVERYTHING that you imagine it to be!

It's freaking AWESOME!!!  LOL 

But - I want to share some videos from this weekend on my YOUTUBE channel after I crush faces... so I feel like I should prepare you for the PHENOMENON that you are about to witness..  ( I mean - ya know - if you care anything AT ALL about watching me crush faces with weights!!)

So I'm thinking a picture today is in order....
to prepare you for the plethora of face crushing videos that will follow this weekend.

Yeah - OK - so I modeled my singlet.
I struck "a pose"
And I crack up EVERY time I look at this picture!

It's me
in all my glory (using that term LOOSELY!)

IN MY SINGLET

for your viewing pleasure...  please ENJOY!  :)
(without judgement or LAUGHING!!   shut it.... no laughing!!!  The boys have to wear them too!)

Don't make me attach a picture of B-rad in HIS glory!!! 

Some Friday confessions for ya!

What better way to celebrate a Friday than with some dirty little secrets!!

YAY - I found a new game to play!!!  AND it's Friday!!!
I spotted this over at BAT CRAP CRAZY!!!
Man I love her!!!
She sent me right over to High-Heeled Love and I'm going to participate today.


 


So without further adieu
Here are my Friday Confessionals!!!
((Don't judge ME!))

I confess...

I don't just love my job for what I do... but mostly because I love crazy people!!!  And trust me when I say... working with the public gives you AMPLE opportunity to see the magnitude of crazy people!!  I have some GREAT stories!









I confess...

I'm jealous of the people who went to school to be teachers...... but ONLY on snow days!!!  No way I would have the patience to teach, but I sure would like to get snow days!!

I confess....

I am still in shock that I now love to lift weights and crave seeing new muscle development in my body.  I dare to tell people that Dana Linn Bailey is my "fit" role model and surprisingly what I aim to look like!  Yes she is built and all muscle and some people think it's gross.... but I think it is a true testament to what HARD work and dedication looks like!

I confess....

I find it very easy to dismiss someone for hurting me and go on with my life as though that person never existed. Some say that makes me cold and heartless...  It doesn't mean I don't forgive them.... it just means I have no room for extra baggage in my life.  I have very little tolerance for whiners, hypocrites and liars!


I confess....

People often think I'm snobby, cold, and/or unsociable.  I'm quite the opposite.  I'm sensitive and an open book once I start chatting.  It's just that usually I'm more worried about speaking to someone who doesn't remember me and embarrassing them...  cause I hate when that happens to me.  And I can be a bit overwhelming to private people... I'm never sure how people will take me.




 I confess....

I am very independent and quite hard headed.   But every now and then.... I do like to be treated like a little princess!   It's hard to know where that line lies!
(poor B-rad!  He does pretty good with figuring it out!)






Hope everyone has a GREAT Friday and a fantastic weeekend!!!
I sure wish I was home today enjoying a SNOW DAY!!!!

My plate is full and my cup runneth over!!!

Oh how easy it is to get caught up in negativity
It takes about... ohhh.... ONE thing going wrong to tilt the scales

This weekend my washer finally bit the dust

I've seen us headed this direction for some time. Usually when we get to spin circle, I had to give her a lil' push to get it started. Well this weekend it decided that it didn't even want to empty for the rinse cycle, much less spin anything out!!!
Now granted, I've had my washer and dryer for 8 or 9 years. And my son plays baseball (LOTS of years of DIRT!).  And he is a teenager (which apparently requires 7 wardrobe changes per day). So I do a LOT of laundry!!! And they are bottom of the line units.

BUT...

It's also right after Christmas...
And funds are tight...
And college is right around the corner!!

So I have to admit, when Brad said, "well lets go shopping", I was initially excited.
No more push starting the washer!! And looking at new HE units!
What girl wouldn't be excited about that!!!
Lets also add that my refrigerator has been on its last leg for a while too....
So NEW NEW NEW NEW!!!!
Yayyyyy!!!

{insert panic}
The total came
And I FREAKED!!!!

Not just at today's expense. But slowly... gradually... I added that total on top of what I need to be paying off already!
And down I went....
MELT. DOWN.
PERIOD

Scale tilted!

But now.... (several hours and dinner and GYM later....)
let me thank God for sending me a smart sensible patient man to talk me off the ledge and... well... Just hold me when I need to be held. Sometimes that is just enough

Yes it's an expense
And yeh, it's not exactly what I want to be spending money on

BUT
I'm thankful to have the means to do so
I'm thankful to be surrounded by family and friends that love me
I'm thankful that my plate is full and my cup runneth over

I have so much much to look forward to in 2013
My God and my life are taking me down a road I never imagined
I'm so proud
And so excited
And so loved
And so full of joy and love and thankfulness to a God who brought me here

My son graduates high school this year. And he has already received his acceptance letter from UK! (decision is still up in the air on that...)  I'm so very proud of him for the man he is growing up to be!
Next month I will participate in my second power lifting competition with not only the man I love, but also with a group of guys that are top notch in my book
In March I will attend the Arnold Classic in OH to meet a lady I hold the utmost respect for.  I'll hopefully meet Dana Linn Bailey and her awesome husband Rob. They are stand up people (and she has a body and work ethic like none other!)
Also in March I plan to run the Color Run in Nashville with some girls I haven't hung out with much lately and I'm looking forward to seeing them!!! (Ps, if you wanna run with us, you're welcome to do so!)
For June, the first weekend, we will be participating in a Tough Mudder.  (I'm so excited about this!)  For those of you who don't know what a Tough Mudder is  - google it.... they are MADNESS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  and after the Tough Mudder run - we will be spending a week as a family in Virginia Beach.  I've never been there before and we are getting one big place to all stay together.  Looking forward to a GREAT family vacation!  :))

So in short.... I have so much to be thankful for and so much to look forward to.

2013 is going to be MY YEAR!!!  for growth.... for challenges.... for watching not only myself, but my son and all the people around me to grow and be better tomorrow than we are today.

What is on YOUR plate for 2013???
Not just "resolutions" ...  but what are YOU doing to make your mark on those around you?

No crying over spilled washers.... rather I'll be watching those cups overflow with blessings all around!

Happy Monday
Have a GREAT week!

Ooops... I did it again

 Well.... Here. We. Go.
It's official.
I'm signed up. Dues are paid.
It's for real.

My arm has been twisted (well.... not too hard) and I'm doing another powerlifting meet.
Less than a month from now
This is a real legit meet. With lots and lots of strong people (girls and boys!)
I may not come away with trophies this time, but its guaranteed that I will be focused more on being better then, than I am now!!!
And that's all that matters
It's not about being the best, it's about being better tomorrow than I am today.

When I started on this journey I had NO idea where the path would lead
I just wanted to get in better shape. And I wanted abs!!!
Brad says now that he wishes he had a video of me saying
" I don't wanna LIFT like you. I'm not trying to be a power lifter".
Yeh. I said that. And I meant every word of it..... I didn't!!

And those first few weeks that I lifted with him, I tried to stay secluded ... on my own. Away from everyone. I didn't wanna be included. I just wanted to do MY thing.
(I think I was trying to avoid "catching" what they had... I didn't know THEN - but I know NOW - it's a BUG.... the IRON BUG!!!!)
The first night we tried to squat, I couldn't even hold onto a bar to squat. I could barely squat my own weight!!! Deadlifts were a joke. I had no idea what I was doing. And my bench.... Well, it was just kinda sad :-((   That's the only way I can describe it.
Do you all even KNOW what a dead lift is?  Cause I didn't?  or what a REAL competition squat looks like with real weight??  Cause also... I did NOT.
(if you're interested... you can go to YouTube and search for Tammy Green.  I have a channel.  Where Brad has so kindly uploaded some of my videos.  A bench in competition.   My dead lift Personal Record last saturday.  AND my squatting plates video - THAT excites me!!!   Anyway - if you want to know what the crap I'm talking about... feel free to run over and find my channel on YouTube and watch some videos!  Try this link - I don't know if it will work or not? Tammy Green You Tube Channel )

Lets look at it like this....
Once I started lifting (HIS way.... NOT what I wanted to do... and I'm very hard headed.... I'm VERY hard to reason with....) my numbers were something like this....
Bench max... 70. 1 rep
Squat max... 35? That's just a small bar with no weights on it!!!
Deadlift... I don't even know? 135?
Totaling roughly 240??  ish??!!
((for the record - there are men that total like 2,000 for their numbers!!!  CRAZY!!!)

6 months later...
Here's how I look...

Bench max... 90. ( I can do 70 for about 13 reps now!)
Squat max... 135! (That's a big accomplishment for me seeing as I couldn't even squat ME the first night!)
Deadlift max... 220!!!
Rough total.... 440 POUNDS!!!!
I have added 200 pounds to my total in 6 months!!!!

Now granted, I'm just starting.... and only recently have I gotten bitten by the iron bug (thanks to Brad and his boys at the gym)
So my gains will probably slow down some over the next 6 months
but my DRIVE will NOT!!!

I'm very competitive....
and sweet little innocent "just trying to help you" boyfriend Brad KNOWS that about me....
and he had a PLAN all along.....
All he really had to do was get me to that first meet and show me on paper how far I've come and show me GIRLS that CAN lift big weight.
And it was over.
I was sold.
The competitive nature in me came out ROARING!!!!!!!!!!

"I'm an animal.... you're an animal.... rawwr rawwwr rawwwr rawwwwr rawwwwwr!!!"   DLB

So - on February 2nd, me and the BOYS will travel off to Manchester TN where I will compete with MYSELF more than anything to do better than I did at the last meet.
My goal for overall pounds is 450.   Which means I HAVE to hit ALL my maxes PLUS add 10 more pounds somewhere!!!
Trophy or no trophy..... I will come out on the other side just as competitive and a little bit better. 
Physically, mentally and emotionally!

I  can't   wait!!!
(shhhhhhh - don't let on that I'm so excited!)

I give.
I'm waving the white flag
Call me a power lifter. 

I {{HEART}} it!!!!!!!

Strength... Motivational Monday

I believe that everything happens for a reason
Call it fate
Call it Gods plan
Call it what you will
But I DO believe that everything happens for a reason AND that every person you encounter is for a reason!!!

Experience doesn't just happen overnight. Neither does knowledge. Or strength (physical or emotional). It takes time. And willpower. And mistakes. And falling on your face.
And some dang hard lessons learned!!

I do feel strong
I have experienced a lot
I have made mistakes and I have fallen flat on my face
And just when you think you've survived as bad as it can get .. Thats when you get knocked down and get to learn yet another lesson and you come out that much stronger!!

People wanna quit... be sad.... give up.  Pretend that the world owes them something.
No one wants to fight anymore.
And I can't understand why!!

There are mistakes to be made. No one is perfect. No one walks a path of perfection.. It's those side roads and dips and curves that build and prove your character.
Sometimes we need someone's hand, but ultimately - it's on YOU.  YOU must dig down deep and believe in yourself and get up. Grab a hand if you need, but its still on you.

You must believe that even if you made a mistake, even if you failed, even if you fell flat on your face... You learned... You grew... And you were quite possibly there for someone else. Perhaps you walked a road not just for you... but for someone else.
Maybe... just maybe... your heartache was a lesson for someone else?

Get up and show the world just how strong you are
Show the world and someone who might need to see it that you and your God can handle anything. Show others that character you've been building inside!!
Be proud of those mistakes and falls and wrong turns

Because I promise you.... One day you'll stop for a minute and look up and you will not believe where God had planned all along for you to be!!!
You will look up and thank God for those experiences you walked through
You will be thankful.
Thankful for your walk, thankful for your falls, thankful for the people you met along the way. Thankful for the ones still there and thankful for the ones that were only there for a spell.

One day you will walk into a gym with a friend "just to get healthier"
....and then only months later you will realize that man has loved you all along. That man will tell you that when you left, he only prayed to hold you one more time... (Sniff sniff)
And one day you will walk into a gym and deadlift 220 pounds and love every single minute of it and push for more!!! Never knowing you even wanted that to begin with?!
One day your son will get his college acceptance letter in the mail and you will know that having that baby at 18 and working and sacrificing and giving and loving and crying and fighting so hard and never giving up.... and trusting in God... for almost 18 years has made you the proudest and strongest single mom this world has ever seen!!

Ok.... Your plan may not involve a gym and dead lifting and being a single mom... But I can promise you this... I can promise you that one day you will look up and find it hard to believe that your character and your place has been planned all along.
You will thank God for where he brought you and the strength and character that you've been building all the way through!!

You will know that you were strong all along and now you are even stronger!!

Don't. Give. Up.

IT NEVER GETS EASIER.... YOU JUST GET STRONGER!!!!

REFLECTIONS...

As is most everyone today.... I've thought back over the past year and made a mental list of all my blessings.  There are so many.
I've taken note of the rough times too, but as is always the case - it's about perspective.... and the good ALWAYS outweighs the bad  :))

The main thing I try to look at is am I better today than I was one year ago. Not just financially... but spiritually... mentally... Physically?!

I look back at the beginning of 2012. And I see how far I've come, because i can now impartially see baggage that needed to be dropped off. I've known divorced people before, but until experiencing it myself, I was unaware of the bitterness and anger that you carry over in your heart. Well.... I guess I was more unaware of the MAGNITUDE of the bitterness and anger that's carried over. Beginning 2012, I knew all about it. And quite frankly, for a while, I do think it controlled me to an extent. Which was unfair.... Unfair of ME! To allow the malice of another to have that much control over me
So I laid it at the feet of the only One who can truly give me peace.
I let go, forgave myself, forgave him and allowed myself to be free from anger. The rest of the year only got easier by the day

So throughout 2012, I allowed myself to love and be loved again. I began to believe in the good again. I watched my baby boy start his final year in high school. (Sniff sniff). Witnessed my son's SENIOR prom!  Went skydiving for the SECOND TIME!!!  I passed another Board exam. (Yay!). I started working out (for real). I did my first (and i thought last) weight lifting competition. I began being more aware of the food I put into my body. Did I mention I fell in love again?!! :)).
Oh and we added another member to our family!!! Sweet baby (GIANT) Lido!!!

One of my best friends is preggo! (Yay!) and another built and moved in a new house with her BF!! ( who would have guessed years ago that we would be where we are!!!)
I have THE best family and friends I could ask for!
I. Have. Been. Blessed.
All the wrong roads just led me to the right road

So for 2013, I'm expecting a lot!! :))

Here are just a few of the things I'm looking forward to doing in 2013
Not "resolutions" mind you.... THINGS IM GONNA DO!! :))

Get zack enrolled and off to a good start in college!!
(Hopefully take him skydiving after graduation... if we make it there... if I don't kill him first!! Teenagers... Ha!)

Stay on 4 days a week lifting plan. (Possibly throw in a cardio day)
Bench goal 150 (at 100 now).
Dead lift goal 250 (at 205 now).
Squat goal 180 (at 135 now).
Another power lifting competition with higher numbers than the first.
MEET DANA LINN BAILEY - hopefully in March at Arnold Classic!!! (And manage to speak! Ha)
Power lifting seminar in February (a little nervous about this one!!)

Work harder on my diet.... More protein, less FAT!!!! Lower body fat percent!!

Get some landscaping and outside clean up spring projects done at my house!!
(They have been put off for FAR tooooo long!!)

Pass (not just "take") another Board exam.... Vascular.... It's gotta be done!!!!

I think that's enough to get me rollin' into 2013 on the right foot

I'm taking 2013 by storm!

Happy
Carefree
In love
Proud
And a bada$$!!!!

Happy New Year to you all!!!

Stay positive and only focus on the good you look for in 2013
Set goals and work to them... One step at a time!!